The glass is half full
by Loz4321
Summary: Chlack Chloes life changed forever the day Jack got kidnapped and now he’s back. She can’t cope so she does the only thing she can do, gets drunk. Chapter 5 is now up and the story is complete. Hope you liked it.
1. His Return

**Title:** The glass is half full – Part 1  
**Fandom:**24  
**Characters:**Jack/Chloe   
**Rating:**PG13 or less or more not sure yet  
**Summary:**Chloes life changed forever the day Jack got kidnapped and now he's back. She can't cope so she does the only thing she can do, gets drunk.  
**Author's Notes: **This is my first Chlack story so please go easy on me 

By the way I kinda like to pretend that Audrey doesn't exsist so Jack trying to save her in season 6 probably won't get mentioned. This is about the end of day 6 but has references to day 5 when Jack is kidnapped and taken.

The day's chaotic journey had finally come to an end and all Chloe could think about was having a drink, a few drinks in fact.

Morris had been on her back all day, messing up and trying to get back in her good books not realising that Jack was the only person on her mind and had been for the past 18 months.

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She was distraught when Bill told her that Jack had been taken by someone, they were not sure by whom until later when they found out it was the Chinese.

That horrible night she went home and drowned her sorrows. She drink a whole bottle of vodka, a 6 pack of beer and some strange smelling tropical drink that her mother had bought her the Christmas before. Let's just say that by the end of the night Chloe was a complete wreck.

She turned on the television to remove the deafening silence in her living room but as she flicked through every channel all she saw was news flashes of the day's events which made her feel and think about Jack more then she ever thought she would or could or should.

That night she made a vow to herself that without Jack, it wouldn't be the same ever again. In fact life without Jack would be like a glass half empty, her heart would never be whole or full again.

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So here Chloe was 18 months later, the world had been saved, all thanks to the one man she never thought she would see again, Jack.

She didn't know what to think or feel. She had been dreaming of this day for so long that she just couldn't cope with the fact that he was 'really' back from that horrible place.

Chloe truly wanted to stick around CTU and wait for Jack to come back from the field but that little nagging voice inside her head, the same one that told her that the glass was now half empty, told her to go, leave before he came back.

So she did just that, picking up her bag and coat Chloe told Bill she needed to go home and get some rest, after all the day had been so tragic and traumatic. Then she left. Well fled the scene would best describe it. She quickly ran down the stairs, through security, into the car park and into her car where she sat for a moment holding back the floods of emotion that was erupting inside of her. Then she sped away into the night.

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When Jack arrived at CTU he greeted all the old familiar faces accepting their praise and gratitude because he was just too tired to argue and say that it was not just him who saved the day, it was everyone, Bill, Morris, Nadia, Karen, The President, Doyle and Chloe, oh Chloe how he wanted to see her, thank her for risking everything just for him.

While Jack had been away he had lots of time to reflect on his relationship with Chloe. He used to think that she was nothing more that a work colleague, someone who helped him to do his job better. But with all the hours Jack had spent alone on that Chinese ship he started to think about the times that Chloe had done things that were not part of her job description. How she would drop everything as soon as he called and did what ever he wanted.

Before long he started to see her as more than a colleague, she was a friend, his best friend, the only person in the whole world he could trust.

For Jack time passed so slowly, he would be tortured in the mornings and then have all day to himself in a dark, cold, steel room, with only a sliver of light peaking through a gap in the wall. So he vowed to stay focused on Chloe's face, she would be his light for how ever long he was in that hell.

This vow made Jack realise that Chloe was more than a friend, she was everything to him, his hope, strength, anger, love, life, wants, need's. She was his glass half full.

TBC


	2. Booze Hound

Chloe pulled up outside the gas station with a list of booze already in her head _'…I need vodka, vodka and more vodka, check! I need some of that rank tropical stuff my mother keeps buying me…I must like it because I keep finding empty bottles in the bath tub…check!...erm…beer is good, I will get some of that too…' _with that she stepped out of her car with full intentions of draining the shop dry of alcohol.

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Jack went to Chloe's work station but she wasn't there, he looked in the conference room, she wasn't there either, he even shouted her name into the ladies restroom, still no joy although Nadia did come out and give him an evil glare. He finally came to the conclusion that he should ask Bill where she had gone.

"Bill? Have you seen Chloe? I can't find her anywhere. I need to talk to her!" a slight sound of desperation could be heard in his voice.

"She went home jack, 20 minutes ago. She said she was tired and needed some rest. She did look pretty wiped out"

"I thought she might have waited for me to get back before she left…i guess I was wrong…does she still live in the same apartment?" Jacks face seemed to be turning unhappier by the minute.

"Yea as far as I know she does..(phone rings)..Excuse me Jack its Karen I need to talk to her.."

"Sure Bill. I understand"

Jack did understand better than anyone could have realised. He had been waiting all day to be alone with Chloe to talk to her about how much he missed her and how he feels about her. Hell he had been waiting for over a year to do it.

Jack could be a patient man when he wanted to be but his patience was running dangerously low. He had to see her. So off he went in search of the elusive Chloe O'brian

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When Chloe finally got home she practically crashed through her front door, knocking over a lamp in the process. Chloe had been told she was clumsy before but she never did believe it, not even now. Although the crates of beer and bottle's of vodka probably didn't make her look like the most refined woman in the world.

She placed all the alcohol she had bought in the fridge and then went to take a shower.

Chloe loved showers, she would stand there for 40 minutes at a time just to numb out the world around her and tonight was know different. She seemed to melt into her own little world and because of this she failed to notice that she now had a surprise guest sitting on her sofa. One Mr Jack Bauer, who had grown inpatient after waiting at her front for 20 minutes while constantly knocking like a gormless idiot.

Chloe stepped out of the shower, got changed, dried her hair and made her way to the kitchen. She was in for a big shock.

As she turned the corner out of her bedroom Chloe noticed that the lamp she knocked over earlier was now neatly back on the side table. She knew something wasn't right and reached for the phone. Just then she heard a voice, a man's voice, a low, sexy, raspy voice, she knew it was Jack instantly.

Chloe turned into the kitchen and saw him, Jack Bauer, the love of her life. Standing up against the kitchen counter and looking around her apartment with a bemused look on his face.

"So Chloe by the looks of things you have either opened your own night club or have become a booze hound! Which is it?" the look on Jack's face seemed to indicate that he was being serious.

Chloe couldn't answer her tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of her mouth. She was dumb struck at seeing him, there, in her apartment, in her kitchen. Chloe had seen Jack during the day but they were only short fleeting moments not long enough for it to sink in her mind that he was actually back. Then suddenly she snapped out of it.

"What the hell are you doing in my house Jack? and what gives you the right to start snooping around in my personal stuff?" her face was etched with anger.

"Chloe, I'm here because there are some things we need to talk about, some really important things that need to be…" before Jack could finish Chloe cut him off.

"…and I am not a booze hound! I just had a bad day, I'm pretty sure you had a really bad day, worse than mine in fact.." _god jack wouldn't you be having a bad day if the person you loved in secret for years suddenly turned up again out of the blue totally ruining your life long plan of staying in denial._

"Okay Okay i get it you had a bad daybut Chloe I have to…I need to tell you…oh god I don't know how to say this"

"Jeeze jack would you just spit it out already I haven't got all night" _you sexy, adorable, hunk of a man…I missed you so much._

"Ermmm maybe we should have a drink..might loosen me up abit. Today has been tough" _Oh why can't I just_ _tell you I think you're beautiful and wonderful. That I missed you so much I thought my hear_t _was going to burst._

"Okay I suppose a couple of drinks couldn't hurt" _I'm glad you're staying._

"Yea? Great" _I WILL TELL HER!! I WILL TELL HER!!_


	3. Full? Empty?

2 hours had passed since Chloe discovered Jack in her kitchen, 2 whole hours and neither one of them had even touched on the subject of why he was actually there. They didn't seem to want to. After a couple of drinks they were getting back to their old selves, talking again, laughing again and probably the most important, living again.

"You know Chloe?!? I never realised vodka tasted so good" he said with a small smile appearing in the corner of his mouth.

"Jack can you even taste anything? We drank all beer and that terrible tropical stuff. I think we are both a little drunk!"

"Me? Drunk? Never!" He said, not really noticing that he was laid at an angle on the couch pointing at the ceiling in a daze.

"Plus I bet you haven't had a drink in a very long time. Being away and all" Chloe was trying to get him to open up to her, her face turning serious and worried.

Jack sat up slowly, suddenly remembering why he was there, in Chloe's place. He turned to face her. She was sitting on the floor drawing circle patterns into the carpet with her finger. He could see she was drunk but he had to tell her he needed her, this might be his only chance and if it all back fired he could just blame it on the booze and the bad day they had.

When they had started drinking, he failed to mention that over the years all the pain that he had been through meant he had taken a lot of drugs, these drugs seemed to make him immune to the effects of alcohol but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"True I haven't had a drink in a long time. I wish there were vodka where I was. A lot of vodka. It was hard Chloe being there…alone…in pain…without..y.."

Good old Chloe cut him off "..You don't have to tell me Jack if you don't want to. I mean why would you want to say anything to me. It's not like we were friends when you were taken. We were just…I don't know….people who worked in the same building" _God O'Brian stop pushing him away._ Jack's anger bubbled to the surface.

"What?? Chloe how can you say that? We were friends, real friends. I mean you saved my butt on more than one occasion...you trusted me…you helped me more than you will ever know…" _Tell her _

It was Chloe's turn to sit up straight. As she did she looked into Jacks eyes and saw something there, something she had never seen before. He seemed broken.

"..but you never said anything Jack. At the end of the day you would just smile and say thanks, then walk away to be with someone more important…someone more important than me…why would I think we were friends when we never ever talked about anything but work?" _he thinks we were friends?_

Jack didn't know what to say. He knew she was right. Damn Chloe was always right, she was the smartest person he had ever met. He needed to tell her now before it was too late.

"You're right I should have made more of an effort. I'm sorry that I didn't treat you right. That I seemed to blow you off all the time. But Chloe you know when you said that I would just walk away at the end of the day and be with someone more important?...Well Chloe it's the end of the day and I appear to be here, in your house, with you!!"

Chloe was stunned, she hadn't thought about that, the fact that Jack was with her and not somewhere else. The fact that he practically broke into her place to see her. She was completely confused and know longer had any idea what was going on.

"I think I need another drink…my glass is half empty"

"The glass is half full Chloe!"

"No Jack its half empty!"

"Full!"

"Empty!"

"Full!"

"Empty!"

This went on for quite a while until Chloe became very dizzy and toppled over onto the floor. Jack ran over to her, picked her up and laid her across his lap.

"Chloe? Chloe? Are you alright?" he said, while brushing the hair out of her eyes with his hand.

"I think I might have drunk a tiny bit too much. This happens every now and again"

A look of shock washed over jacks face "Chloe how long has this been going on? The drinking I mean?"

"Exactly 3 hours and 23 minutes after you were kidnapped 18 months ago is when I started drinking and I haven't stopped since" with that Chloe closed her eyes and seemed to instantly pass out.

Jacks eyes filled with tears. He wasn't sure why. It could have been because since he went away Chloe's life had turned to shreds or that it was him being taken that had ruined her life or could it have simply been that Jack so I shimmer of hope in what Chloe had said.

What ever it was Jack couldn't leave her lying on his lap all night, no matter how much he wanted to so he picked her up, carried her to her bedroom and tucked her into bed. He wasn't sure whether he should stay and watch her or just leave, go, before he wrecked her life anymore. The only thing he could think of doing was laying a soft, tender kiss on Chloe's forehead and then sitting down in the chair next to her bed to watch her sleep.

He had know idea what was going to happen in the morning but he knew for certain now that he was going to be with Chloe whether she liked it or not.

TBC

'


	4. A Confession

Only a couple of hours had passed since Jack put Chloe to bed but the sun was already beginning to peak through the curtains. For a little while he just sat there at the side of her bed looking at her, soaking in her peaceful sleep. Jack wished he was able to sleep like that, peacefully. He hadn't slept properly for 18 months; you could say he was a virtual insomniac.

Jack couldn't bear it anymore. He had been waiting to be near her for so long that he just couldn't wait any longer. He walked over to the bed, took off his shirt, pulled back the covers and slipped in next to Chloe.

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Chloe woke up feeling terrible. Her head was splitting and she was pretty sure that at some point she was going to be sick.

She was wrestling around in her bed, trying to drag herself out of it when she suddenly felt something warm lying next to her. She didn't own a cat or a dog so she was wondering what the hell it was. Then she remembered Jack was there last night, they talked and she had passed out then blank.

_He must h__ave put me in here and then fallen asleep. Oh my god! Chloe do not panic!! Do not panic!! OH MY GOD!!! WHAT THE HELL DO I DO??? _Chloe turned slightly and rubbed up against Jack's arm. _Holy Crap he's so warm…Focus!!_

Chloe was so busy having a fight with her brain that she didn't notice that Jack was beginning to wake up. He actually slept for the first time in over a year.

"..Chloe?..." Jack whispered on the tip of his tongue.

Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned completely onto her side and was now looking Jack right in the eye.

"Jack? What are you still doing here? In my house? In my bed with me?"

Jack felt this was the perfect time to get things off his chest.

"..Well Chloe first I should start with, if you say one word while I am talking then I will go back to CTU and flash the picture I found of you last night, naked at a Halloween party...agreed?" a big smile appeared on his face.

"Yes I so agree with that" _Jerk_

"Good because I don't think I could do this if you talked.."

Jack moved, sat up on the bed, turned towards Chloe and crossed his legs. Chloe didn't know why but she did the same thing. They were both sitting so close now, staring intensely into each others eyes.

"Chloe this may be hard for you to hear but I can't wait anymore. I have to tell you. When I was being held in that god forsaken place I was so angry. They would torture me in the mornings and then dump me in this dark, cold room for the rest of the day. This happened everyday.."

Chloe was clearly becoming upset by Jacks ordeal.

"But I realised something after a while I shouldn't be angry. Getting angry just meant that they had won and you know how I hate to lose"

She nodded with a smile knowing this to be completely true.

"So I started to focus on something else. Something that didn't make me angry and I found something Chloe, something wonderful…someone wonderful"

Chloe looked like she was about to say something but Jack cut her off.

"..Remember the picture!"

She clamped her mouth shut.

"Well this person got me through all those hard times. Without her I think I might have gone mad. She made all the anger go away. Well apart from the times I remembered how much of a pain in the ass she could be.."

Chloe suddenly stiffened up. Jack seeing this placed his hand on her knee and gently drew circles on it.

"You see Chloe that person, my saviour, my hero, my love. That person is you…"

Jack looked up from Chloe's knee and noticed she had small tears running down her cheeks.

"I am so sorry that I didn't see it before. I didn't see you I mean really see you… but now I finally do I don't think I could live another day without you"

Chloe looked away. Jack needed to get her attention so he touched her cheek with the back of his hand and then quickly placed a soft kiss on her lips before she had a chance to protest.

Chloe stiffened up again "GET THE HELL OUT JACK!!"

"Look Chloe I know this must have come as a shock to you but…"

"GET OUT NOW!!" she screeched at the top of her voice

Jack didn't seem to be fazed by this.

"I am not going anywhere until you tell me how you feel about what I just told you" a sad look appeared on his face.

"I don't feel anything about it Jack. I don't feel anything about you!" she snapped.

"Then why did you start drinking so much when I was gone??"

"…because.."

"..Well why Chloe?? Why??"

"…because…"

TBC


	5. Love is enough

When Jack told Chloe how he felt she reacted badly, very badly. Jack didn't know what to do.

So before she could run away Jack grabbed Chloe's arms softly so that she couldn't move from her position on the bed. They were still sat with crossed legs, staring at each other, much to Chloe's annoyance.

"Well Chloe I'm waiting! Why does your house look like the aftermath of a frat party? Why are there at least 5 empty bottles of vodka sat next to your bin outside? And why won't you tell me how you really feel?" Jack was starting to get visibly upset.

Chloe didn't want to answer him but she knew there wasn't going to be an easy way out of this. She knew he wouldn't give up until he had gotten the truth out of her, the whole truth. She took a deep breath and decided to explain everything to him.

"Well I can see you're not going to leave me alone until I explain things to you..."

"Baby…I would never leave you alone…" he said softly looking her in the eye.

"Did you really just call me baby or am I still drunk??..." _he called me baby, oh I love him so much_

"Don't try and change the subject Chloe!"

"Okay okay. I guess I will start from the beginning then, the day you were kidnapped. That day was horrible for me Jack, horrible. It was terrible for you too I know"

Jack nodded.

"But that was the day I realised something about you and me, Jack, something big and I just couldn't handle it so I went home and had a drink. Then every night you were gone I had another drink and another drink, before I realised it all I did was drink and think about you every time I opened another bottle. What we didn't have! What we could have had! If only you hadn't…." Tears started to flow down Chloe's cheeks.

Seeing Chloe upset made Jack upset too, he also started to cry. He went to hug her but Chloe pulled away.

"Chloe?..."

"Let me finish please...Jack…" Chloe was becoming more and more upset by the minute.

"Shhhh baby its ok…" Jack tried to hug her again but she backed away.

"Just let me finish!" The old Chloe seemed to be coming back

"Ok I will just sit here and listen" Jack sat up straight and looked Chloe dead in the eye.

"I know it was stupid Jack. Thinking that something could have happened between us. But after that day, after what we went through together I thought in my stupid little daydream world that there was a chance and when Bill told me that you were missing that chance was taken away...or so I thought.."

Jack smiled.

"So now I find out you love me and want to be with me and you wonder why I reacted badly. This isn't a movie Jack. We don't get the happy ending. I mean look at us. We are so different. You're this strong, incredible, world saving man and I'm a…."

Jack cuts her off "Strong willed, independent, smart, incredibly sexy woman"

"Well I was going to say a pathetic nerd but your description sounds better" They both smiled at each other.

"Chloe you're not a …." Chloe stopped Jack from talking by putting a finger over his mouth.

"I haven't finished yet…we just don't fit Jack…we have absolutely nothing in common…"

"Chloe we do have something in common. We have love. We have this…."

He leaned forward and placed his lips on Chloe's. At first she was reluctant to kiss him back but she didn't have much will power and couldn't hold back any longer. She slipped her tongue into Jacks mouth. Their tongues intertwined as if they were one being, their kiss was getting deeper and deeper but then Jack suddenly pulled back, breathless.

"You see! We fit together perfectly Chloe" his face beamed.

"Kissing only gets you so far Jack. At some point we would have to come up for air and get on with life. We would have to see each other everyday and if we have nothing to talk about we will both get bored of each other and want to leave"

Jack's face dropped.

"But because we are scared of hurting each other… we would both stay just so we don't hurt one another. But staying means we will…hurt each other I mean."

"Chloe it wouldn't by like that this time I promise. I know you have been hurt in the past but I never intend on leaving you because I want to stay with you...I would never leave you because I will always love you. So there will be no reason for me to go….(jack stroked Chloe's cheek) Listen to me when I tell you that I will never ever get bored of you Chloe. I mean who would. Your mouth tends to open before your brain has engaged a lot and you can be a royal pain in the ass but those are just things I love about you"

"That still doesn't solve the problem of us having nothing to talk about Jack" she looked confused.

"Well let's clear that up right now. Chloe how long have I been at your house?"

"erm… about 14 hours. Why?"

"And in how many of those hours did we sleep?"

"About 4…" she still looked confused.

"So Chloe what did we do with the other 10 hours?"

"I guess we talked"

"That's right Chloe we talked. See we have no trouble with the talking part of our relationship. It seems to be the listening and the seeing that's the problem. Now I want you to hear me when I say that LOVE IS ENOUGH!! And I love you a hell of a lot baby"

Chloe smiled and with that Jack leaned in to kiss her but then dramatically pulled away.

"Wait a minute. You do love me too don't you Chloe? I mean you are in love with me? Because I haven't heard you say it.."

"I think I need another drink.."

"Chloe you are officially on the wagon and I am being serious!! Do you love me or not?" Jacks face turned red with anger.

"Well okay I won't drink but I need to move because If I sit in this position any longer I think I will be glued to the bed.."

With that Jack moved and proceeded to crawl on top of Chloe and push her down onto the bed.

"Better?" He said with a smile.

"Yes!" She said with a giggle.

"Now do you love me like I love you?"

"Well seeing as you asked so nicely…I can say with 100 sober clarity that I am head over heels in love with you Jack and I'm pretty sure I always will be"

"Really?"

"Yes Jack…really!"

"Oh Chloe I really needed to hear that from you. Thank you"

"No…thank you Jack.."

With that he pressed harder against Chloe and they began to kiss slowly and passionately for a long time before Jack pulled away again.

"Jack what are you doing?"

"You know that argument we were having last night before you eloquently passed out…well do you still think the glass is half empty.."

"Yes. I do actually"

Jack didn't like that answer and started to tickle Chloe everywhere.

"Give up baby?"

She couldn't take it anymore.

"Yes……..i….give up Jack. The glass is half full. Stop tickling me. Kiss me instead"

"With pleasure.."

They both fell deeper into each others arms and kissed.

THE END

Hope you liked it!


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